The present invention relates to the field of corkscrews for a wine steward.
It is known that the devices for removal of the bottle cap for a wine steward, commonly used in specialty shops, restaurants, bars and domestic environments, for the purpose of allowing the opening of bottles closed by caps which are operable by extraction from the neck of the bottles, comprise a helicoidal body to be inserted in the cap by screwing, these caps normally being made of cork, but recently are made of a plastic material.
This body is hinged to an element of lengthened shape which is placed in a position which is essentially parallel to the latter in a rest position but emerges from the latter in functioning conditions.
An apparatus is generally hinged to one of the extremities of the element of lenghtened shape, this apparatus being known and being capable of allowing the opening of caps with a crown, normally used for the closure of bottles of mineral water and other types of non-alcoholic beverages. This type of device for the removal of the cap is simple from the structural point of view and also from the functional point of view. In addition the devices are of extremely contained dimensions, particularly in rest conditions, so that the device may be easily placed even in the interior of a pocket of the waiter or wine steward and this is the reason which has led to success for the professional use.
In addition to these indisputable advantages, however, one must consider the fact that, with this type of device, the raising of the cap after the helicoidal body has been deeply inserted within the cap, is not particularly light. For the purpose of overcoming these drawbacks, many devices have been proposed, among which there are the devices described in EP-A-1063191 and Italian 1,302,529. These devices have not met with success from the commercial point of view, because of their constructive and functional complexity. In fact in order to carry out the raising of the cap, the operator must rest the extremity of the apparatus which is used for the opening of caps having a crown on the extremity of the neck of the bottle and therefore must provide for raising the element of lengthened shape, using as a hinging means the area of contact between the mouth of the bottle and the above mentioned apparatus.
The maneuvering requires a certain force and ability to be carried out, above all in the presence of caps of good quality which are strongly compressed in the interior of the neck of the bottle during the bottling phase, particularly because of the fact that it is necessary to carry out contemporaneously the raising of the element of lengthened shape and to maintain the contact of the apparatus with the bottle, which is carried out by the user by maintaining constantly the fingers of one hand in contact, contemporaneously with the apparatus and the neck of the bottle. Naturally, the fact that the user must rest the hand on the neck of the bottle, in an area very close to the mouth of the bottle, has contraindications of hygienic type which are increased due to the fact that the entire operation very frequently is directly carried out while the user is looking. For this reason, the user utilizes a napkin, a rag or similar materials to maintain reciprocal contact with the apparatus and the mouth of the neck of the bottle. In every case, the entire operation of raising the cap, because of the fact that there is nothing which would prevent the apparatus from disengaging from the surface of the bottle, compels the user to lengthen the time necessary for the good result of the operation, a fact which is not pleasent for a professional operator who operates in public.
In addition it happens sometime that the operator using the device for a wine steward causes the rupture of the mouth of the bottle which causes occasionally a wound of the hand of the operator, a fact which has resulted in unpleasant litigations for imdemnification of the damages by the owners of the commercial operations in which the operator and/or wine producers who have marketed bottles which have been broken.
The object of the present invention is to provide a device for the removal of the cap from a bottle of the type previously described which allows the operator to carry out an easy maneuver of extraction of the cap from the neck of the bottle without the necessity of resting the fingers of the hand on the neck of the bottle.
This object is achieved according to the invention by making available a device for a wine steward of the type described hereinabove, which, corresponding to the extremity of the apparatus is used to raise the caps having a crown, provides a step, perpendicularly to the transversal dimension of the apparatus so that the apparatus may rest on the upper border of the mouth of the bottle during the phase of raising the cap of the bottle.
There is also provided that to the apparatus is hinged an element which has a width measured in the direction perpendicular with respect to the greater dimension of the same element but smaller with respect to the dimension of the apparatus.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention there is provided that the element hinged to the apparatus be constituted of an extension which, after it is aligned to the apparatus, allows the total length of the apparatus and the extension be essentially equal to the length of the element of the lengthened shape.
When the apparatus rests on the mouth of the bottle there is provided that the surface turned towards the neck of the bottle of the extension mentioned hereinabove enclose the neck of the bottle, whereby the operation of extraction of the cap is carried out without the necessity for the operator to touch the neck of the bottle with his hands.